CHANDIGARH: The manufacturer of the ‘Rajnigandha’ pan masala, Dharampal Satyapal Ltd, has told the Allahabad high court that it gave “support to the Gurudwara Prabandhak Samiti” for running langar during Covid-19 pandemic, and therefore it should be allowed to sell its pan masala.

The pan masala manufacturer was responding to a PIL filed by a Lucknow-based journalist that sought a ban on the product, claiming it could potentially aid in spreading the corona virus since users spit it around, often indiscriminately.

Rajnigandha filed an affidavit in the court saying it has contributed Rs 10 crores to the ‘PM Cares’ fund and also helped “the Gurudwara Prabandhak Samiti” financially to run langar.

Earlier, the Union Health Ministry had written to all states and union territories in April this year that since “chewing smokeless tobacco products, paan masala and areca nut (supari) increases the production of saliva followed by a very strong urge to spit,” therefore “spitting in public places could enhance the spread of the COVID-19 virus.”

While the pan masala manufacturer and contributor to PM Narendra Modi’s “PM Cares” fund has not named the Sikh gurdwara body to which it contributed money, no Sikh organisations has chosen to respond to the issue.

Since significant sections of the media ran stories and particularly mentioned the Rajnigandha pan masala manufacturer’s claims that it contributed money to a “Gurdwara Prabandhak Samiti” to run langar for the needy, the silence of both the SGPC and the DSGMC on the issue has baffled the public in general and the Sikh community in particular.

Significantly, any kind of tobacco related or tobacco associated or pan masala or gutka is considered explicitly prohibited in Sikh religion and while gurdwaras always welcome people from all religions, entrance is denied to anyone even in possession of such a product.

Consuming tobacco is considered one of the four major prohibitions in Sikh religion, and can render one apostate. However, despite such clearly laid down religious diktats, it is confounding that any Sikh gurdwara body had the gall to accept money from a pan masala manufacturer, and that too, for langar.

Dharampal Satyapal Ltd even claimed that they not only contributed money for langar “for the needy” but also for “reserving hotel beds for doctors (corona warriors) in Noida.”

The affidavit by Dharampal Satyapal Ltd (The manufacturer of the ‘Rajnigandha’ pan masala) claimed that its pan masala is merely a mouth freshener since it does not contain tobacco, but it leaves a moot question if that was sufficient reason for the SGPC, the DSGMC or the Akal Takht not to take note of such a shocking development.

A senior leader Punjab Today spoke to said it was indeed a sad development but conceded that the Akali Dal was in a piquant situation on this issue since it cannot be seen as speaking against Modi’s multi-crore “PM Cares” fund.

While the UP government had banned sale of pan masala on March 25, even before the Union government’s instructions to the states, it lifted the ban on May 6 for inexplicable reasons, a development that clearly showed the clout of the pan masala manufacturer and a proud “PM Cares” contributor.

The same firm, the manufacturer of the ‘Rajnigandha’, has been having a brush with courts earlier, too. In 2011, the Supreme Court had to issue a contempt notice to the Managing Director of Dharampal Satyapal group of companies for allegedly defying its order banning use of plastic sachets for sale of their products.

The bench of justices GS Singhvi and AK Ganguly had to tell the Centre to ensure total compliance of its December 2010 order “in letter and spirit”.

Medical opinion has been unwavering in opposing sale and consumption of pan masala, even before Covid-19, since it added to the menace of spitting, an ugly but common practice in most parts of the country.

The case is now slated to come up for next hearing on July 8, but sources said there was little chance of the Akali Dal, the SGPC or the DSGMC filing a caveat in the court and asking to be impleaded as an interested party to demand to know which gurdwara management body had accepted money from the pan masala firm and where were those langars run.

Also Read: 550 Years of the Guru, & the Covid-19 news cycle